The Fallen Prince kept his eyes on me.
“You are both before us to be purified from shed blood and the loss of innocent lives.”
“Innocent lives,”I thought in my head. “I didn’t see them dragging Tharic to be purified when he killed the Ascendants trying to join Scroll Order.”
“And you never will, Starling.”
He was seriously too good at just slipping in whenever he wanted.
“You can’t just keep doing that. I didn’t give you permission.”
“Boundaries aren’t really the point of bonds, Starry One.”
“I don’t remember ever asking to be bonded. Especially to the likes of you.”
“And yet, here we are. This will be good for you. Now you’ll be forced to see how gluttonous you’ve become, gorging on generations of lies.”
“Egotistical, pompous?—”
“Are you two done being distracted?”
The Iris cut in, breaking off our mental debate. I pressed my lips into a thin line. I noticed a small grin etching onto Quazar’s face. I huffed quietly.
Pretty, gloriously sexy, demon.
I wrenched my eyes away from him, annoyed at how beautiful he was. Annoyed at how every inch of him lured me in like moth to flame.
Quazar held my hand possessively, squeezing our palms as he rubbed the back of my hand with his thumb. I shifted on my feet, twitching at the delicious sensation it triggered down my body.
The female Iris who’d been speaking the entire time opened her arms wide, gesturing to us.
“To purify yourselves, you must diptogetherseven times. After you’ve completed dipping in the waters, we will pour sacred oil over you, pray, and give you of the sacred cup to drink.”
“Drink what exactly?” I blurted out.
I covered my mouth with my free hand. Mentally, even though his face hadn’t changed, I felt Quazar laughing on his side of the bond. The Iris’s eyes flashed.
“So many questions for one Unclean.”
I flinched. Ouch.
Quazar tensed at the rebuke. I was probably imagining it, but it felt like his fingers wrapped around mine just a bit tighter.
“You may begin.”
Quazar and I looked at each other, our wings intertwined, hands still clasped. We bounced on our bare feet at the pool’s center. I was still tall enough for my head to remain above the water’s surface but Quazar’s shoulders were above it. Looking at one another in the eyes, we began to fully submerge ourselves in the iridescent pool. Once, twice, all the way to seven.
By the time we finished, the water had affected the density of my hair. My curls had shrunken tightly. Instead of being past waist length, they were now above mid-back. I wanted to cry. It was going to take forever to air them out, and finger detangle them again.
Quazar and I remained where we were. He was so close, his chest almost pressed against mine. He was a breath away. And the way he looked at me…stars.
I imagined the way the Infinite made the stars, the great lights, the heavens, and cradled them in his hands. How he must have looked at them with such pride, such joy, admiring his eternal handiwork.
That’s how it felt to trapped in the prepossessing gaze of the Fallen Prince. It felt like time was slowing. Not only could I feel the writhing movements of his thoughts, but I could feel what he felt. Rage. Hunger. Desire. Need.
The constant flow of his emotions flooded my hearts, overwhelming my senses. And I sensed something else, as he held on to me, tighter by the moment.
Shadows didn’t just fill my mind. It was as if shadows,hisshadows, were in my very blood, coiling through my body. As if Quazar, or at least his essence, had been fused into me. I felt heady. Hot. Flummoxed.
